The situation between Israel and Hamas-controlled Gaza continued to escalate after two rockets were fired toward the center of Israel. Rocket sirens were triggered for the first time in Tel Aviv since Operation Protective Edge in 2014.

Israel’s Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that it had carried out a series of targeted attacks on Hamas and Islamic Jihad inside the Gaza Strip in retaliation.

Immediately after the IDF confirmation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he would convene the security cabinet in the military headquarters in Tel Aviv. Israel’s municipality announced that public bomb shelters in the Tel Aviv area would be opened.